Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.

The purpose of this bill is to provide a two percent pay increase to all county board employees and to bring the state minimum pay scale pay grade for service personnel back within equity.

Fiscal Note Detail

Over-all effect

Effect of Proposal

Fiscal Year

2014Increase/Decrease(use"-")

2015Increase/Decrease(use"-")

Fiscal Year(Upon FullImplementation)

1. Estmated Total Cost

0

34,260,871

34,260,871

Personal Services

0

0

0

Current Expenses

0

33,229,444

33,229,444

Repairs and Alterations

0

0

0

Assets

0

0

0

Other

0

1,031,427

1,031,427

2. Estimated Total Revenues

0

0

0

3. Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):

The total estimated cost for the proposed legislation is $34,260,871, of which $32,309,171 is the estimated cost of the 2% salary increase and $1,951,700 is the cost to increase state equity for service personnel by $12 per month ($152/month to $164/month) to keep the county salary schedules within equity, as defined in WVC 18A-5-4.

However, of the $32,309,171 estimated cost for the 2% salary increase, $31,277,744 is the cost to the State through the Public School Support Program (PSSP), with $1,031,427 having to be absorbed by the county boards.

The reason is because the allowance for professional student support personnel (counselors and school nurses) (Step 5 of the PSSP) is fixed in Code (18-9A-8) at the allowance amount computed for the 2012-13 year. Since the total allowance for this step is fixed, there is no statutory authority to increase the amount to cover this, or subsequent salary increases, for these personnel, even though the personnel are authorized to be funded through the PSSP. The estimated costs for the remaining steps of the PSSP (steps 3 and 6), as well as the additional costs for the Teachers' Retirement System, are also costs to the county boards of education since those allowances are calculated using the fixed Step 5 allowance amount.

Note that the estimated cost of $1,031,427 for the county boards does not include the additional costs incurred by the local boards for personnel employed in excess of the number funded through the PSSP, those employed in positions not funded by the PSSP, or those employed with state or federal grant funds.

In summary, the total estimated cost of the legislation is $34,260,871, of which $33,229,444 will be the cost to the State through the PSSP and $1,031,427 will be the cost to the county boards. However, the county boards will incur additional costs for personnel whose salaries are not funded through the PSSP.